Lupe started in the sport like many drivers did in the 1980s - with a lifted 4x4 that he had built with his dad. While showing off his truck at a car show in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1983, he met Jeff Dane, the original owner of the King Kong monster truck. Dane and Lupe talked about his street truck and how it could be transformed into a monster. Lupe returned to the same auto show the next year - his senior year of high school - and had the axles to begin bulking up the truck. The project took three years of part-time work to complete, and in January of 1987, Lupe and his father reappeared at the car show with a 48"-tired monster truck.

In 1988, Lupe was invited with his "Warrior" monster truck to compete at the Astrodome for TNT Motorsports - an event that still stands as one of the most memorable moments of his career.

Lupe and his father ran the "Warrior" truck part-time as Lupe worked through college in the late 1980s. He debuted a new race frame in 1993, featuring a 1932 Chop-Top body and a rear engine. The truck ran two years before Lupe parked it.

From 1994 through 2001, Lupe taught and coached elementary school. He and his wife had three children, and Lupe stayed in contact with some of his old friends from the monster truck tour. He kept track of everything and kept watching on television, and eventually put in a phone call to Clear Channel Entertainment - Motor Sports to tell them he wanted to return.

Some of the USHRA Officials had worked with Lupe years before and thought he'd be a good fit for a Spanish/Southwestern themed concept called "El Toro Loco". Lupe began testing trucks and growing the Toro Loco idea. He and the crazy bull debuted in 2001.

"I made a statement to USHRA Officials that I would make the truck as big as Grave Digger," said Soza. "Dennis and I got started about the same time. He was just like I was - we were privateers."

Few can argue that Lupe hasn't done everything in his power to back up that claim. From slamming through and parking on top of a semi-trailer in the World Finals IV to clearing Madusa and landing into a slap wheelie that sheared the entire rear end out from under the truck in World Finals V, Soza has clearly made his mark on the track and also with the fans across the world.

"The best part of my job is hearing feedback from the fans. When I pull into a stadium, I like to see people rise out of their seats. I live for that," he said.

When he's not on the track, Lupe is at home near Corpus Christi, Texas and keeps busy hunting, working on the family ranch, flying, and writing children's books.